London, United Kingdom

The Metropolitan Police Service on Wednesday (Oct 18) said that climate activist Greta Thunberg was charged with a public order offence after she was detained at a protest outside an annual gathering of energy industry figures in London. 

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Thunberg was among the 26 people charged by the UK police after being held at the demonstration site on Tuesday. She was charged with "failing to comply with a condition" levied under Britain's Public Order Act that deals with public assemblies and was released on bail.

The 20-year-old activist is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Nov 15 .

She was taken away from the site of the protest by two police officers and put into the back of a police van parked outside the Energy Intelligence Forum.

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Before her arrest, Thunberg denounced "closed-door" agreements struck between politicians and representatives of the oil and gas industry.

London police said they imposed "conditions to prevent disruption to the public" after officers arrived at the protest, which were then breached and further prompted the arrests.

Also read: Six airports evacuated in France after 'threats of attack'

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"The protesters were asked to move from the road onto the pavement, which would enable them to continue with their demonstration without breaching the conditions," a police statement said.

Protesters block entrances to energy event venue

As per news agency AFP reports, several hundred protestors had gathered outside the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel during the "Oily Money Out" demonstration, organised by pressure groups Fossil Free London and Greenpeace, blocking all entrances to the venue.

Banging drums, the protesters chanted, "Stop the oil, stop the gas." The protesters argued that most industry profit is ploughed back into dirty energy that worsens climate change.

"Oil companies have racked up billions upon billions of profit, breaking records across the board last year. Oily CEOs took home multi-million-pound pay cheques," Fossil Free London said in a statement.

"The overwhelming majority of this money is going straight back into fossil fuel expansion, not the green energy they claim to support," the statement added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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